GENRE: Fiction
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
BLURB:
 
As the 20th century dawns, the world is transformed in dizzying ways. But nestled in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains is a place, and a family, out of time—where one young girl will grow to face the challenges of each generation before her—and discover whether she has the strength to overcome them…
 
The eldest surviving daughter of Anna Guinn, Rachel rarely ventures far from her home in the Appalachians, aside from an occasional trip into town to trade a penny for a peppermint stick. Sometimes she yearns for more, but as much as she fears her mother’s unstable mind, she is anchored by the strength of her grandmother, Willa. Freed from an abusive marriage, Willa holds the family together through hardship, all the while fulfilling her role as keeper of her neighbors’ carefully guarded secrets—the most painful of which may be her own.
 
In this isolated, eccentric world where people depend on moonshine to put food on the table, hang talismans to chase away ghosts—and tragedy can strike as suddenly as a coiled copperhead—Rachel wonders what life has in store. Most of all, she worries whether she and her sister have inherited the darkness that lurks inside their mother. Her one respite is the town’s apple orchard, the ally she finds there—and the revelation that she can take her destiny into her own hands, decide what to leave behind—and what is truly worth carrying into the future…
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Excerpt Two:
 
Big Grandma, Gertrude Cooper—Grandma’s mother—lived with us until her passing when I was seven years old. She’d come to live with us when my great-grandfather, Earl Cooper, died and I was four. The two had lived in a cabin that was much farther up the mountain than ours, making my great-grandparents’ cabin practically inaccessible to anyone that didn’t have a darn good reason for undertaking the long haul up there. Once my great-grandfather had passed away, Big Grandma felt the solitude and isolation far more than she ever had before, thus, she’d packed up most of what she had, gave the rest to the church—including the cabin—and moved in with us. Her small cabin was left to the ravages of creeping vines and thick laurel that quickly took over the place and created a well-hidden and safe haven for a couple of turkeys, a family of mice, and a rat snake, all of whom must have taken into consideration the fine accommodations and reluctantly agreed to live and let live. And there were two others who found the perfect use for the abandoned home place—Myra Jenkins and John Vespie.
 

​AUTHOR Bio and Links:
 
Janie DeVos is a native of Coral Gables, Florida. She attended Florida State University, then worked in the advertising industry for over a decade, including radio, cable television, public relations and advertising firms. Though her career changed over the years, one thing didn’t—her love of writing. She is an award winning children's author. Beneath a Thousand Apple Trees is her adult debut. Learn more at janiedevos.com.
 
Buy the book:
https://www.amazon.com/s/?field-keywords=9781601836816
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/beneath-thousand-apple-trees/id1088652695?mt=11
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=9781601836816&c=books
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/beneath-a-thousand-apple-trees
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beneath-a-thousand-apple-trees-jane-devos/1123105751?ean=9781601836816

BLURB:
 
After years of serving a corrupt government, Ser Videl, an idealistic paladin, learns that her younger sister is tangled in a dark scheme against Raj Mangala, the compassionate yet troubled Empress of the city's oppressed lowtown; the two women meet and are deeply drawn to one another, finding a shared sanctuary in their violently-divided city. The Scorpion's Empress is intimately written through the eyes of both twenty-seven year old women.

Videl's loving devotion is just what Raj craves, but Raj is wary of letting her guard down while protecting her throne. Determined to prove her worth, Videl chases after Raj and works to unravel the mystery of the plots against the Empress. Raj wants Videl to serve her emotional and sexual needs, and the two explore a meaningful relationship of dominance and submission that delves fully into their deepest wants. When the conspiracy against Raj comes to a head, Videl's loyalties are tested when she is forced to choose between her past and her Empress.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Excerpt One:
 
This promise of adventure—I hadn't felt it properly in years. Women for me have come and gone, literally. The beginnings were never like this. They hadn't looked at me with such controlled, respectful want. Like a gentleman. Like a knight—a true paladin. They hadn't held their hand out to me, not giving a damn about everyone staring at us. They hadn't asked me to dance as Satya sang such a haunting, romantic song about uncertain longing.
 
And then she spoke again: “I'm assuming another rule is that I don't get to learn your real name.”
 
That was way more than anyone else had managed to do.
 
I leaned in to whisper in her ear, “The name's Raj. You're not allowed to tell no one. Promise me.”
 
“I won't betray your trust. I swear that on my honor. I really like your name. It suits you, all the power you have. Tell me whenever I have permission to call you that. I'd like to earn it.”
 
She guided me over to the dance floor. The crowd parted to make room for us. They whispered to each other as we passed by; they saw how entranced I was, no matter how hard I fought to hide it. I watched the seriousness turn over as shadows across Videl's beautiful face. Serious, but soft, somehow—she had a perfect balance of the two almost all the time. 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:
 Yoshiyuki Ly was born in San Diego, CA. She lived there until moving away to college. In high school, she began writing fanfiction as a serious hobby. Her pen name is representative of her multiracial heritage and a unique, diverse outlook that is reflective in her work. While pursuing an undergraduate degree in philosophy, she spent her free time reading the works of Virginia Woolf, Soren Kierkegaard and Simone de Beauvoir. She then spent the next years honing her craft to become a published author.
 
Links –
myBook.to/thescorpionsempress
Author.to/yoshiyuki_ly
https://twitter.com/LyLikeLee
http://yoshiyuki-ly.livejournal.com/
https://www.fanfiction.net/~yoshiyukily
 
 

GENRE: Contemporary Romance
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 BLURB:
 
Pamela Landers had it all, a senior partnership with a top law firm, expensive car, and a luxurious condo. What she desired most was a loving husband, children and a life filled with precious memories that would comfort her through her golden years.

Funny how fate has a way of steering you down that path where dreams really can come true. When Pamela encounters Gavin Templeton along her journey, she has some life-altering decisions to make that eventually lead her to happily ever after.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt One:
 
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Templeton. I’ve been trying to get to Sugar Run for the past two years, but …” she paused. “I just don’t know how to say no to my boss.”  
 
He chuckled and pointed her way.
 
“Well, good for you. All work and no play … well, you know the rest.” He interjected.
 
Then she thought. I’ll be damned. She knew that name. Everyone knew the Templeton name. She was rather titillated by his attention. The Templeton’s, were quite known in the Northeast. Not only was Sugar Run a rather luxurious five-star resort, but his family had acquired over fifty acres of prime lakefront property and started developing it into one of the most eloquent gated communities that would offer luxurious 2-3-bedroom town homes, a 9-hole golf course, and private country club.
The cleft in his chin was more prominent when he smiled and it pleased her to know she was the cause of the sparkle in his eyes.
 
“And, please, call me Gavin.”
 
Her voice shook a little. “Pamela Landers … my name, that is and, thank you for sharing your table.”
 
The waitress arrived, took both of their orders, and refilled their coffee cups.
 
“So, tell me Pamela, what line of work occupies your every waking moment?”
 
“Law,” she answered. “My niche is wrongful death.”
 
The look that registered on his face made her wonder, if the legal field was something he found distasteful. She did not know why, but she wanted his approval. His opinion of her somehow mattered.
 
“Do you ski, Gavin?”
 
“Not an Olympic hopeful mind you, but I manage to make it to the bottom without breaking my neck.”
 
Pamela giggled.
 
His cell phone went off and he excused himself, as he rose and moved from the table. He was only gone for a matter of moments. When he returned to the table and rejoined her, he asked the waitress to bring him the check right away.
 
Pamela tried to hide her disappointment.
 
“Pressing business?” She asked, trying to keep the disappointment from her voice.
 
Gavin’s was evident as he sighed heavily. “I’m afraid so. There’s something I must attend to in Ashbury that needs my attention.” He rose and handed the waitress two twenty-dollar bills and told her to keep the change.
 
Pamela shook her head and raised her hand to argue but, he waved it off.
 
“Please, it was my pleasure to meet you.” His smile was warm and genuine. “Perhaps, you’ll join me for a cocktail this evening. I’ll send a note to your room.”
 
Pamela returned his smile. “Um, that would be nice,” she waved her finger at him, “but, the drinks are on me or, it’s a no.”
 
Gavin reached for her hand, and drew it to his lips, and stroked it tenderly with his thumb. “How can I refuse? Until later this evening then.” He bowed slightly and turned to exit.
 
Pamela was exuberant as she watched him leave, appreciating how well the jeans he was wearing fit around a rather nice tight ass and well-muscled thighs. Pamela relaxed and played back their meeting in her mind. Talk about fate … it was all rather unexpected and the immediate attraction she felt for him was even more surprising. She looked down at the thick, crisp waffles on her plate and began devouring them with a hunger that was as strong as her desire to meet up with the dashing and charming owner of Sugar Run.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:
 
My love of reading romance fiction goes back to those early years when I was raising a young family. It wasn't until much later in life I actually took up the pen to write my first historical romance, Wind Warrior. I really don't fit into one specific niche. Once a story starts to flow, it's only then I know what genre/sub-genre it will fit under.
 
I have only one regret, and that is not getting to this point in my career much sooner, rather than later. Life has a way of setting up road blocks, which for me, was supposed to work out that way. Because of those detours, I have become a more passionate and expressive writer, allowing me to create the kind of raw human emotion I want my readership to feel.
It is my hope you walk away with not just an entertaining read, but the importance in knowing, "Without imagination & dreams, we lose the excitement of wonderful possibilities."
 
LINKS
 
The book is on sale for only $0.99 for a limited time on Smashwords.  The link to buy the book is https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/611278  
 
Please use Coupon Code: AN23P

The book is on sale for .99 cents at these fine book sellers too.

 Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B8AWOM2?*Version*=1&*entries*=0 

Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unchained-melody-cynthia-roberts/1123345646?ean=2940152600995

Apple iBook https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/unchained-melody/id1080033188?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D10

Kobo https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/unchained-melody-5 


Social links:
 
Website   http://www.romanceauthorcynthiaroberts.com/
Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/Cynthia.Roberts.Author
Google+  https://plus.google.com/100112528079816795315/posts/p/pub
Twitter https://twitter.com/cynthiasromance
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/romauthorcroberts/
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/RomanceCynthia/
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

INTERVIEW 12
What group did you hang out with in high school?
I did not hang out with any group in school.  I was a little bit like the male version of the Ally Sheedy character from The Breakfast Club.  I was very miserable and reclusive.  On the plus side, I did hang out with an older crowd.  A family friend and his wife often took me to the movies; although we never did see The Breakfast Club.       

What are you passionate about these days?
I believe in the laws of nature which are highly apolitical; however I also agree with Margaret Thatcher that the facts of life are conservative.  That’s why I write in some respects.  I hope that my writings can serve as morality plays and/or cautionary tales.  I do wish to help and to serve others.  I’m very sentimental and Victorian in that way.   


If you had to do your journey to getting published all over again, what would you do differently?
I was only ever published in a few obscure magazines and ezines.  I don’t suppose there’s anything to regret about that, but I do strongly regret sending partials to the money-grubbing lefty-elite gatekeepers of Manhattan.  I should have just self-published from the very beginning because when a non-elite sends partials and query letters to the elites, it is for the most part a total act of futility.  The only winner is the US Postal Service.

Ebook or print? And why?
I prefer ebooks.  Even if humankind recycles paper, I do fear for trees.  Nonfiction ebooks are also ideal because they’re just so much more user friendly and searchable.  I’m all for that because I believe in the value of homeschooling.  That’s how Abraham Lincoln got an education.  When he wasn’t chopping logs or wrestling people, he read books.  If he were around today, I think that he’d like nonfiction ebooks as much as I do.

What is your favorite scene in this book?
My favorite scene in Song of the Oceanides is the one scene that actually takes place within the otherworldly confines of White Sands Desert in Southern New Mexico.  I think that must be the most beautiful and dreamlike place in the world, and it was fun to try to describe it.  I do believe that less is more, so I did not try to drown the plot in description.  Much of the scene entails dialogue—specifically the villain’s monologue as he endeavors to beguile the heroine.  I’m very proud of the way he tries to beguile her too because he concocts an elaborate story involving Mormonism, mysticism, and the Old West.  I think that Brigham Young would have found it all rather amusing. 

GENRE:  YA Fantasy
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
 Song of the Oceanides is a highly-experimental triple narrative transgenre fantasy that combines elements of historical fiction, YA, myth and fairy tale, science fiction, paranormal romance, and more.  For ages 10-110.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt One:
 
Blue Hill, Maine.
3 August, 1903.
 
From the moment Emmylou heard the song of the Oceanides, she recognized something godly in the tune.  As it resounded all across the desolate shoreline of Blue Hill Bay, she recalled the terrible chorus mysticus ringing all throughout that extinct Martian volcano the day her father went missing down in the magma chamber.
Aunt Belphœbe followed along, guiding Maygene through the sands.  “Why don’t you go play in that shipwreck over there?”  Aunt Belphœbe pointed toward a fishing schooner run aground some fifty yards to the south.
 
When Maygene raced off, Emmylou refused to follow.  By now the chorus of song tormented her so much that an ache had awoken all throughout her clubfoot.  Before long she dropped her walking stick and fell to the earth.  Closing her eyes, she dug both her hands into the sands and lost herself in memories of the volcano.  How could Father be gone?  Though he had often alluded to the perils of Martian vulcanology, she never imagined that someone so good and so wise could go missing.
 
The song of the Oceanides grew a little bit louder and increasingly dissonant.
 
Opening her eyes, Emmylou listened very closely.  The song sounded like the stuff of incantation, witchcraft.  And even though she could not comprehend every word, nevertheless she felt certain that the Oceanides meant to cast a spell upon some unfortunate soul.

Tell us about yourself:
I am 55-years-old.  Learned to write by studying the craft and reading incessantly.  I am a Biological Farmer.  I grow microorganisms for a living.  Writing alone does not pay the bills.


What was your first book?
“The Grass Sweeper God.”  I am in the process of adapting it into a screenplay.  It is based upon my mother’s 1982 suicide.

Describe your first break
My first break was publishing, “The Grass Sweeper God” through Amazon POD services.  My other first breaks were working with great editors to get the book to a professional level.  Also, working with Mario Sanchez Nevado, the book cover illustrator.



What is your favorite genre to read? To write?
Historical fiction; read and write.


Are Happy Endings are must in your stories?
NO.  The ending should reflect the beginning, middle and end. If it is a dark story, then maybe a happy ending.  My book, “The Grass Sweeper God” is a dark story and the ending is hopeful.  That’s all one can realistically ask for, so I believe.


What makes a protagonist interesting?
Giving them hope and then taking it from them.  Make them fight for what they desire, what they need and want and love.  Put conflict in their way.  Make them climb the mountain and not hang out in the middle, but make it to the precipice while fighting the entire way. 

What is the best thing about being a writer?
Playing ‘God’ with characters’ lives.  We can’t or want do that in real life, but between the pages, we are God, indeed.  Telling a story that makes a difference in others’ lives.

What is the worst thing?
Not getting the time to write.  My writing has not afforded me the opportunity to quit my full time job that pays the bills.  I like the solitude of writing; no problem.


Pantser or plotter?
Panster for the most part.  I like to see where the story will take me.  But, if I get overwhelmed, I will plot an outline.

What do you see the direction of your future writing taking? What can we expect next? Give us a little taste.
Expect the screenplay version of, “The Grass Sweeper God.”  Here is a little taste:  https://youtu.be/9I2ViS1U8Do

Just for fun

Cat or dog person?
Dog person.  His name is Buster Bean.

Favorite food?
Meatloaf

Favorite book?
The Color Purple

Favorite movie?
The Color Purple

Favorite holiday?
Halloween, oops, not a holiday.  Oh well, still Halloween

Would you rather be the princess or the villain? Why?
Villain.  Because a princess, I have been.


Who has more fun, orcs or hobbits?
Hobbits.  I love their big feet.  Has to be fun to stand so small on those huge feet!

GENRE: Historical Fiction
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
BLURB:
 
Sixteen-year-old Smiley Hanlon is a young woman tethered to a young man's body.  In the 1950's Appalachia coal fields of Solitude, Virginia, Smiley is placed in the "Mentally Retarded Class" because he is effeminate and wears a blouse and saddle shoes to school. 

Smiley is backed by his best friend, Lee Moore who protects Smiley from a father and many townspeople who hate him.  Smiley has dreams of becoming an entertainer.  Raised by his aunt in a juke joint, as a child Smiley sings and dances on the Formica bar top into the wee hours.  Chosen as the female lead, Dorothy, in a new town production called Dorothy of Oz Coal Camp, his dream is being realized.  The triumph of the play and his dream is sabotaged by his father and classmate bullies culminating in a tragic and horrific moment that changes both Smiley and Lee, forever.

Smiley and Lee flee to NYC.  They learn that prejudice is prejudice whether in the coal fields of Virginia or on the streets of NYC. Smiley suffers at the hands of his real mother who is a religious zealot.  She tries to change who Smiley is because he is a boil on the body of Christ. Lee suffers at the hands of psychologists who practice Aversion Therapy-electric shock treatment to cure his homosexuality. 

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  Both Smiley and Lee become forces of change as do countless others.  In 1969, Smiley Hanlon and his friend, Lee emerge as leaders of a gay revolution, the historical Stonewall Riots.  The riots are vicious but the real battle will be won or lost on another continent: Solitude, Virginia. 

The Grass Sweeper God is a force of nature that flows through all things...straightens out that which is bent...which is sick...
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Excerpt Three:
 
Madam Luna:  Celestial Fortune Teller, Spiritual Advisor, Psychic and Conjurer of Bad and Good Fortune.  The circus had come to the fairgrounds and later, Solitude’s Main Street would swell.  People would line Main Street and scurry about in a trance-like state, like they had been put under an ancient spell cast by a conjurer.  Elephants, giraffes, zebras, and lions from Africa would parade down Main Street, and people would be entranced.  Clowns, fire breathers, bearded ladies, conjoined twins, along with every other human oddity would demand an audience without the sense of judgment, but instead bewilderment.  Madam Luna would work her magic, conjuring up spirits, and for every conjure bad bequeathed good.  It was how the heavens aligned by balancing the space and time in which bad and good thrived.  To conjure up the spirits, to conjure up forces beyond mortal expectation, was to play with the fire of the gods.  And she was a fire breather.  Those that requested a conjurer’s service always paid the price because people’s nature was to want bad to happen to others.  There was always a price to pay for such a request.  Madam Luna believed in the adage: We reap what we sow.  This was part of the unspoken conjure.    

AUTHOR Bio and Links:
 
DOUG HOWERY has been writing both fiction and essays since 1990. His essays and familial stories have appeared in The Blue Ridge Lambda Press.

In many of his stories, as in "The Grass Sweeper God," Mr. Howery's true lode, his font of inspiration is in the passion and suffering he has experienced.
 
Author, Doug Howery penned the novel with insight into his own struggle for sexual identity and personal tragedy. His mother committed suicide in 1982, blaming her two sons' sexual identity in a letter and declaring herself a martyr for intolerance and social bigotry. She referred to her own sons as "Gutter Rats that Could Rot in Hell" and represents the hate and mistrust that have plagued society.

Suspense author, Maggie Grace, with the North Carolina Writers' Network writes about her cohort Mr. Howery: "What I like is the riskiness, the cutting edge of the narrative voice we hear. The moments when he lapses into descriptions of the moon, of the horse, etc. are true poetry that offers some relief from the coarseness of the story, and he places them well. He has an ear for the rhythm of the story, a natural sense of when to end--hangs fire with a new way of looking at someone or something, turning the entire chapter on its ear. I like the way he makes it impossible for the reader to stop reading at the end of the chapter."

Mr. Howery lives in Virginia with his partner of 34 years where he is at work on his next novel.
 
Links:
 
Buy @ Amazo
n:  https://www.amazon.com/Grass-Sweeper-God-Doug-Howery-ebook/dp/B00JMVE036?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0
 
Twitter:
https://www.twitter.com/@dhowery1
 
Goodreads:  
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8087260.Doug_Howery
 
Facebook:  
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Grass-Sweeper-God/1475772659315049#!/pages/The-Grass-Sweeper-God/1475772659315049
 
Book Website:
http://www.dhowery-book.com
 
Book Video Trailer:  
https://youtu.be/Bz6bNcZ6p4E
 
Linkedin:  
https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-howery-90bb975a